A Little Talk
by Tonks32
Summary: A little talk between Alexis and Beckett. Read Author note!


Found this on my computer and thought I'd share. All mistakes are mine and there will be some! Sorry! Enjoy!

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Alexis was wise far beyond her years and that wasn't nessicarly a bad thing, but Beckett always wondered if that kept her from enjoying the simple pleasures of a teenager. So it brought a smile to her face when the teenager challenged the detective to a thumb war over the last French fry. It seemed no matter how old Alexis may act, she still had that youthful spirit that seemed to reside in all of the Castles. Indulging in the childish act, Beckett took the girls hand and counted off the start of a furious thumb battle. This felt natural, having lunch and thumb wars with her partner's daughter like it was something she had been doing all her life. When Alexis worked her way into her heart, Beckett wasn't sure. All she knew was that she would give her life if it meant protecting Alexis'.

"I win!" Alexis beamed snagging the last of the fry with a look of triumph on her face that reminded the detective of her father in so many ways.

Smiling, Beckett slid from the booth already dragging on her jacket, "Come on. I want to get you home before your father wears a trench in the floor." The writer had hounded her with questions all morning hoping to get her to spill whatever Alexis wanted to speak to her about. True to her word to Alexis, Beckett didn't say a thing. She felt honored that the teenager sought her out for girl talk and advice when Alexis could have easily went to her Martha or Meredith. Part of her felt a twinge of disapproval towards Meredith. It was a mother's job to be there no matter what when the child needed someone to talk to.

The corner of the girl's mouth twitched, "I'm sure you enjoyed making him squirm just a little."

"Pay back." Beckett simply stated holding out Alexis' jacket for her and was surprised when the teenager moved to give her a quick hug. Smiling, Beckett gave her a quick squeeze, "What's that for?"

"Everything." Alexis replied taking her jacket. It was nice to be able to talk to someone other than her grandmother about normal teenage girl issues. Not that her grandmother wasn't helpful, but sometimes her advice wasn't always the best. Beckett gave her a grounded perspective on things when Alexis needed it the most. She was beyond grateful that the detective just simple sat and listened as she rambled on and on about Ashley and his choice to go to a collage across state. If Alexis had tried to talk to her mother about this, she would have changed the subject two minutes into the conversation. Her mother wasn't the greatest of listeners, which is why Alexis was beyond grateful to have Beckett in her life. "But mostly for lunch and letting me chat you ear off. God knows you must have you fill with dealing with my dad all day."

"He's not that bad." She refused to let anyone truly know that she enjoyed every day she spent with Castle. Ever since their strange partnership began, Beckett noticed a change in her life that she wondered how she lived with out for so long. Before Castle came along she was all work and no play. Now she was playing jokes on the guys and indulging in Castle's insane theories he always seem to come up with. She was having fun at her job for the first time since she joined the force.

"Please don't be nice for my sake. I know my dad can be a handful sometimes."

'I'm sure you know more than anyone that your dad is like a nine year old on a sugar rush half the time. But he does have his usefulness someday."

"He doesn't just get in the way?" Alexis wondered if Beckett knew that there was a light in her eyes when she spoke about her father. For someone that was trained to see everything, Alexis found Beckett to be the most oblivious person when it came to the love she obviously felt for her father.

"Castle makes a difference." Becket assured wanting-no needing Alexis to know that. "You're father thinks in a different way and its takes us down new avenues that leads to suspects, evidence, and motives that we would have never thought of."

"It's great knowing that." Alexis smiled stepping onto the side walk where they were blasted with the sounds of New York. Thankfully since she had been in the city since birth she had developed a filter that helped block out all the noise. "My dad has changed a lot since he started shadowing you. Before he had seemed so lost as if he lost is purpose just to get up, maybe that was why he had such bad writers block. There was nothing meaningful in his life."

"That's not true." Beckett slipped an arm around the teenager as she steered them back to the station. "Being a father to you means more than anything."

"Of course, but I could tell that there was still something missing. In the last three years I've seen my dad grow up into this even greater man. I've always been proud of him, even if he rode a police horse naked through Central Park." Alexis smiled when the detective stifled a chuckle. "When he comes home and tells me about his day, his face glows with happiness. He loves it there with you and the boys. Whether it's just a day filled with them teasing him or just bringing you coffee, he loves it maybe even more then writing. He loves knowing that in some way he helps people."

Beckett went silent for a moment wondering if Castle knew that he helped people with his writing. Judging by what Alexis was saying, she figured not and someday when she was ready Beckett was going to tell him just how much his writing helped her through the darkness. "Some times I don't think he gets the credit he deserves when handling cases. When we close a case people come up and thank me for catching the person who too their loved one away. The fact is that if it wasn't for your father I might not have been able to see the evidence that was hidden between the lines."

The red head beamed up at the detective, "It's nice to hear you say that, Kate." It made it just a little bit easier for Alexis to handle the fear she had every time her father walked out the door. But a part of her still hated the fact that there was a chance that he might not be walking through it again.

It wasn't hard to tell where Alexis' thought went to and Beckett stopped turning so they faced each other. "I want you to know that I will always do whatever is in my power to make sure that you. I wish there was a way I could chain him to the desk whenever a dangerous situation arises because I don't want to lose him to. He's important to me, so are you and that's why I promise if it's in my power then I will keep him safe."

Processed with the overwhelming urge, Alexis through her arms around the unexpected Beckett. "Thank you."

Stunned by the embrace it took Beckett a few moments before she brought her arms around the girl to moved to really form any words. So here she was just a few feet from the station sharing a very motherly embrace with her partner's daughter. Word was bound to spread and even more speculation on her relationship with Castle was going to be whispered in the bullpen and Beckett would just have to grit her teeth and bare it because she wouldn't give up this relationship she had with Alexis for anything. "Come on I can feel you're father's gaze burning into me from upstairs."

Laughing, Alexis linked arms once again with the detective and climbed the stairs of the station.


End file.
